


Inevitable Fallout

by penumbria



Series: Inevitable [1]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen, Graphic Description of Corpses, Jethro Gibbs Bashing, Non-Canonical Character Death, Timothy McGee Bashing, Ziva David Bashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-16 11:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8100481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penumbria/pseuds/penumbria
Summary: What if James Dempsey had found out that his little brother Brian had been killed by Ziva (in the elevator at NCIS) before the MCRT knew where the kidnapped Jenny Shepard was? What if he was able to take his revenge and he did it on live TV? How does the fallout change things at NCIS?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS and make no money from this.
> 
> Thanks to my beta, lanalucy, and to the wonderful Jilly James for the art she provided for the fic.
> 
> Written for the NCIS 2016 Big Bang.

 

* * *

 

 

 

“I’m here in front of the Capitol Building where one of the largest demonstrations against the war in Iraq is taking place today. It is a popular day for protests as there have been groups of different sizes in six different places around the District since eight this morning. The current group, who’ve been sitting here and chanting for over two hours, is the third to protest here at the Capitol. Both of the others then marched on to the White House and ended at the Vietnam and World War II Memorials.

Earlier today a small group of protesters was arrested and fined for blocking traffic on Dupont Circle. They’ve been released and I’ll have an interview with their leader in the next hour. For now I’m Melissa Marks, live at the Capitol-”

The camera swung abruptly and focused on the street behind the reporter. A black SUV was careening toward the lawn and hit its brakes as it reached the grass. The front seat passenger door was pushed open and something fell out, before the door was slammed and the SUV screeched down Constitution Street toward the highway entrance.

The cameraman got closer as the reporter responded to a question from the anchor in the newsroom for the live audience. “That black SUV just dropped a bundle on the Capitol lawn. We don’t know yet if this has any connection to the protests that have been occurring here all day but as soon as we know, you’ll know, Todd.”

In a lower but still audible voice, the reporter urged the camera man, “Get closer and open it up, Mark.” The man did as instructed, keeping the camera focused on the large bundle the whole time. He reached out with a foot which entered the frame and nudged the bundle and when it rolled over gagging sounds from the man were heard over the air as well as a a softly spoken, shocked female voice over the live airwaves, “Holy fuck, it’s a woman.”

The camera captured a gruesome sight before the producers in the newsroom cut the feed, too late for the live viewing audience. It was a woman in a bloody black suit, a gaping hole in the middle of her chest, her intestines spilling out, her short red hair almost fully scalped, her face slashed, her eyes gouged out and through her forehead a large jagged piece of metal, pinning her missing tongue to her head and a note impaled on it, clearly able to be read for all who saw it: _You killed my brother, I killed your Director. Blood for blood. NCIS will pay in blood_.


	2. The Meeting

 

A large conference room paneled in dark wood and heavy furniture but covered in high tech screens and computer terminals was hosting a meeting filled with more brass than usual. The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Navy, the Director of Homeland Security and one of his Deputy Directors, the Director of the FBI, the Director of the CIA, the Director of the NSA, and the Judge Advocate General sat around the table waiting to discuss the fallout from the investigation into NCIS that had begun with the murder and body dumping of its late Director, Jennifer Shepard.

The Secretary of Defense opened the meeting with a succinct, “NCIS is one giant clusterfuck.”

Philip Davenport, the Secretary of the Navy spoke up. “Director Shepard made some unfortunate choices over the past year since her appointment by Secretary England.”

“Granted many of the clusterfucks that were brought to light were due to Shepard’s poor judgment but she inherited some issues as well.” The newly appointed Defense Secretary Robert Gates looked firmly at the Deputy Director of Homeland Security. “That cowboy, Gibbs, his behavior harked back years. And if he had been reined in, who knows what might have been when Shepard took over.”

Tom Morrow nodded briefly. “Yes, sir. In hindsight, I agree I let Gibbs have his way too much, but the solve rate of the MCRT was the second highest of any team in the Armed Federal Agencies.”

“Solve rate? Yes, true enough. Conviction rate? Not so much, Director Morrow.” The Judge Advocate General, Rear Admiral Gordon Cresswell, addressed the group. “The DC Major Case team did solve most of their cases but in prosecution, in court we had issues. Sometimes it was simply a defense motion that went the wrong way but several times crucial evidence was thrown out due to sloppy procedures or cowboy tactics from the team.”

“Gibbs jumping a warrant?” asked FBI Director Robert Mueller.

“Occasionally, yes. But once he arranged for a night parachute jump to get an unneeded confession and DiNozzo, a novice at jumping, got knocked out of the plane. It was … the fallout was not good. Lots of good men and good officers will have black marks on their records forever over a situation that was completely unnecessary. The forensics to convict came through just hours later and Gibbs knew they were coming. But he wanted that confession and it ended up getting thrown out anyway due to threats and coercion. He gave the suspect what the suspect believed to be a sabotaged backup chute and cut his main line so the man’s main chute wouldn’t open and told him to jump. The killer was the only one who would worry about that particular backup chute. Complete cowboy nonsense and it could have gotten DiNozzo killed when a scuffle knocked him out. As it was, he was lightly injured. The judge was not pleased with the whole thing but the killer was convicted in that one thanks to the forensics that had nothing to do with the confession.”

“Sorry about that one.” Morrow grimaced.

“Anyway, my point was that while the MCRT may have a phenomenal solve rate, their conviction rate is more along the lines of above average, not unheard of in major case teams. And most of that is due to Agent DiNozzo and Miss Sciuto and Doctor Mallard. Sciuto and Mallard are leaders in their fields and DiNozzo is a top notch investigator who is simply brilliant on the stand. He’s had some questionable moments but they were usually inside the line and went our way. He was a cop for a long time and knows how to work the system to law enforcement advantage. The other members of the team … well, as I said before, Agent Gibbs is a cowboy and questionable in the field, in my opinion, and when he’s on the stand, he can go either way. When he’s on point, he’s amazing and compelling. And the silver fox thing doesn’t hurt with the female members, either. But if he feels overly defensive… it becomes a train wreck. My people try to keep his testimony to the minimum and use DiNozzo when we can. Agent McGee gives strong testimony when in his element, computers and electronics and the internet, but when it’s more than that, he falters and gets _very_ nervous and stutters and forgets things. And Officer David… well, she has only testified a few times because her position technically isn’t valid for doing an agent’s job. When she _is_ on the stand she is belligerent, and only once has her testimony not caused a win for the defense. She is arrogant and her lack of knowledge of American laws is glaring, and she is unapologetic about it. She’s been on the team near to a year I believe, and has made no effort to learn the laws she is supposed to be upholding and investigating crimes relating to them.”

Director Mueller interjected, “There are several issues with Officer Ziva David that came to light during the investigation into Director Shepard’s death. If you’re done, Gordon, we can start to explore what we discovered. I know the CIA and NSA have issues with her, as well.”

The Rear Admiral nodded. “I just wanted to make clear the MCRT at NCIS in DC isn’t some mythical thing that can’t be changed. Gibbs is - well, I’ve made my opinion clear on him, I think. DiNozzo is wasted as a mere SFA and McGee needs a lot of work for field agent when on the stand. I know some of what is coming and will have some recommendations down the line once we get there, but for now, I’m through.”

Mueller sat forward and pushed a thick folder, stamped “Classified, TOP SECRET”, to each of the others at the table. “I’ll begin at the start of the investigation. Once the FBI was notified of the death of Director Shepard -”

Secretary Gates interrupted, “Excuse me, Bob, but when _was_ that?”

Bob Mueller sighed. “An FBI agent, Charlie Burns, got a call from his sister about three minutes after she saw the live report when the body was dumped and uncovered. He informed his superior after verifying the information with the station and it eventually made its way to Agent Tobias Fornell, approximately thirty-five minutes after Agent Burns got the call. Agent Fornell and his team are the go-to team for FBI liaisons with NCIS, especially if they involve the MCRT. Fornell and Gibbs are friends. Fornell apparently married one of Gibbs’ ex-wives and later divorced her. They bonded over their shared misery. And Gibbs is infamous for his inability to work well with other agencies or departments, so Fornell’s in with him is usually helpful. Once Fornell had the information about Director Shepard’s death, he sent a forensics team to the body dump site on the Capitol grounds and took himself and his own team to the Navy Yard.”

“What did the forensics team find?” asked Director Chertoff.

“They worked with the local police and the Capitol police who were already on site and had secured the scene. The body was taken to the FBI morgue and the tape from the TV news report was confiscated and gone over with a fine tooth comb. The note attached to Director Shepard’s body was sent to the forensics lab, as well. The reporter, the cameraman, and several dozen war protesters were interviewed but none of them really had any information that couldn’t be seen on the tape of the reporter's stand up. And tracking the course of the SUV backwards on traffic cameras, it was discovered that the driver wasn’t just heading to the Capitol, he was looking for a reporter doing a live broadcast. He passed by several TV satellite trucks and slowed down each time but none of them were currently on the air. We backtracked him all of the way to the highway nearest the Navy Yard and found another body when we did so. He didn't care about publicity for that one, indeed, he would have been a fool if he wanted that broadcast. That body was identified as Alex Rudd, a major player for South African drug runners. From all we can determine, Rudd was the Dempsey brothers’ contact with their suppliers. And James Dempsey shot him twice in the chest and once in the head before dumping his body about fifty yards from the Navy Yard and proceeding to the Capitol area where he found Ms. Marks reporting live on the protests.”

“Through various forensics, some of which had been done by Ms. Sciuto and Agent McGee at NCIS while trying to find Director Shepard’s kidnappers, we found the location where the murders took place. It was a hangar at a small regional airport. The plane was still there and the pilot was found dead inside it. As far as we can tell, the pilot was just a small time smuggler who was trying to make an easy buck and saw too much, perhaps. Either that, or Dempsey just snapped entirely when he learned of his little brother's death and killed anyone around.”

“That is a point; how _did_ Dempsey find out about Brian Dempsey’s death? I presume under the circumstances, NCIS was keeping it very quiet.”

Mueller nodded. “It was a combination of bad luck, loose lips and sloppy work habits. Once James Dempsey was killed in the shootout with FBI agents when he refused to surrender, that was the main focus of our investigation. After lots of questioning, and several obstructionist issues thanks to certain people at NCIS who wanted jurisdiction even with the huge conflict of interest, Fornell discovered that a man who was waiting for a scheduled appointment with Shepard was actually Dempsey’s attorney. When Gibbs came to tell Shepard’s executive assistant about her abduction, he eavesdropped on their conversation. He heard that his client had kidnapped the Director and he had already overheard gossip about the dead drug dealer in the elevator, killed by the ‘Director's Mossad chick’ when he arrived for his appointment. When the attorney left the office after Gibbs left with Director Shepard’s schedule from her assistant and his appointment was rescheduled for the next day, he called James Dempsey and informed him of Brian Dempsey’s death. We arrested the lawyer and in return for protective custody and a new name (in jail) and a new life once released (to protect him from the South Africans) he gave up any information he had that wasn’t privileged, which was quite a bit. We dismantled most of the American arm of the South African’s drug trade on the East Coast thanks to the little weasel’s information. He took a plea deal for ten years with a chance for parole and witness protection after six for his role in the entire affair.”

Mueller sighed deeply. “I have to believe that if Gibbs had been more careful when talking to Shepard’s assistant and made the lawyer less curious, and if the agents and staff at NCIS had been less overt with their gossiping around strangers in an elevator and at the security checkpoint, Director Shepard would likely still be alive. We can’t know for sure, of course, but I have to think that if James Dempsey had thought there was the slightest chance for his brother's freedom in return for the Director’s release, he would have kept her alive. And NCIS would have had a chance to find her before their deadline was up. But everything we knew about James Dempsey before this incident was his ruthlessness and savagery with everyone except Brian Dempsey. His love for his little brother was noted all over his files. Once he realized his brother had been killed while in NCIS custody, by a woman deeply connected to Shepard according to the gossip, she had no chance.”

“Speaking of ‘the Director’s Mossad chick’,” said Director Michael Hayden of the CIA, “and Brian Dempsey’s death, can we discuss what role she _actually_ played in that, according to the medical evidence, not gossip?”

Mueller nodded. “First off, the initial autopsy was done by Doctor Donald Mallard at NCIS. It wasn’t exactly against procedure but I feel it was a bit of a conflict of interest. Ziva David wasn’t an NCIS agent but she _was_ a liaison officer assigned to the MCRT and Mallard is incredibly close to that team. David should have been suspended from duty from the outset; she was the only one with Brian Dempsey when he dropped dead, and Doctor Mallard should have at the _least_ brought in an outside observer to prevent any hint of impropriety. If Dempsey _had_ surrendered and it had gone to court - well, it wasn’t the doctor’s best idea. Mallard did _try_ to be impartial. It is noted from interviews with Gibbs and David, as well as from what Mallard said to Fornell, that he always prefaced his findings (until the body was removed by Fornell to the FBI) with the fact that his discoveries _could be_ natural causes but until the final tests were in they couldn’t know for sure. However, paperwork was found on Mallard’s desk which was filled out without Ziva David’s admitted strike to Brian Dempsey’s jugular cited even as a _potential_ contributing factor to his death by burst aneurism. To Doctor Mallard’s credit, it wasn’t signed, but it _was_ fully filled out but for the final signatures.

“The Medical Examiner at the FBI admits that he couldn’t definitively say that the strike to the jugular was the cause of Brian Dempsey’s death. The aneurysm could have burst before the strike or because of the strike or after the strike but not have any connection to it (though the last is unlikely). But his final report listed the strike as a highly likely contributing factor in the bursting of the aneurysm at that precise point in time.

“So, Ziva David is likely guilty of _at least_ manslaughter. But I’m not sure we could get a conviction. We could charge her but an even marginally competent defense attorney could bury the prosecution in motions and get huge chunks of the case thrown out. And if David didn’t take the stand… This whole thing was mishandled from the very beginning. Gibbs is a very loyal man and when David was on the hot seat, appearing with a dead suspect and herself in an elevator, the only thing he did was assign her desk work. He didn’t even assign an agent to follow her, and she ended up down in the autopsy suite with Doctor Mallard at one point.” Mueller shook his head in disbelief. “Gibbs’ initial ‘interview’ with David wasn’t even in an interrogation room. It wasn’t even in a conference room, for God’s sake. It was in the main bullpen area, around the corner near the stairs to the mezzanine. No recording equipment, no other witnesses but she and Gibbs. She never admitted on tape anywhere what she had done and she was never read her rights until the FBI took her into custody. It just - it’s impossible.”

Director Hayden sat forward at that. “I think I’ll take it from here if we’re focusing on David.”

Secretary Gates nodded. “That’s fine, but we’ll be revisiting Gibbs and Mallard later.”

“All right then, Ziva David is an Israeli citizen. She is an agent of their intelligence branch, Mossad. Her father, Eli David, is a deputy director currently but considered to be next in line for the Director position within a few years, possibly as soon as a year. Eli David has close friendships with several members of the upper echelons of NCIS, including Leon Vance who is being considered as Shepard’s successor, and is currently serving as interim Director of NCIS. Vance would love to do his friend Eli a solid and bury this whole thing with Ziva in a hole. And if it were just the death of the drug dealer, I’d say do it. No need to give Mossad and Israel a black eye over something most people would consider a public service homicide.

“However, during the investigation into Director Shepard’s murder and David’s role in the death of Brian Dempsey, several things came to light. Ziva David originally entered the United States in May of 2005 as a handler for her half-brother, Ari Haswari, Mossad’s mole inside Hamas. While she was here, Haswari was accused of murdering NCIS Agent Caitlyn Todd and trying to blow up the families in Norfolk there to meet the returning fleet after a deployment. During this time, several other women connected with NCIS were targeted by sniper fire, namely Ms. Sciuto while in her lab with Agent DiNozzo and the newly appointed Director Jennifer Shepard while in a car with Agent Gibbs. Gibbs was fully convinced of Haswari’s guilt, and had a previous grudge against the man due to their first interaction when Haswari invaded NCIS to remove evidence and took Doctor Mallard, his assistant, and Agent Todd hostage. The incident ended with both the assistant and Gibbs being shot in the shoulder area and Haswari’s escape. Though told by the FBI and CIA that Haswari was a mole, Gibbs still went after him. In this case, it turned out that Gibbs’ gut was correct and Haswari was actually a double agent. He did indeed kill Agent Todd and _was_ an actual terrorist. Gibbs filed a report stating that Haswari came to his house and he shot and killed him. The reality was that he stated this to protect Ziva David, the actual shooter, from consequences from Mossad.

“After taking Haswari’s body back to Israel for burial, Officer David returned to NCIS where Director Shepard offered her a position on the MCRT under Agent Gibbs as a liaison officer. Gibbs wasn’t consulted before the transfer and no one else on his team knew until David showed up.

“Frankly, the whole thing is ridiculous. Mossad is not an investigative agency. At all. They specialize in espionage and counterterrorism and intelligence gathering. And assassination. NCIS primarily investigates crimes. Granted, there are arms of the agency where things are more covert and deal in things like Mossad, but the MCRT is not one of those. David then had and _still_ has no crime investigation skills, other than what she has picked up over the past year. Director Shepard didn’t insist she attend FLETC to gain skills and understanding of the laws of the United States. She never gave an oath of office. If Mossad wanted a liaison with NCIS - a frankly pissant federal agency, the MCRT was one of the worst fits imaginable. But Shepard was close friends with Ziva David who had saved her life when Shepard was stationed in Europe, and was friendly with Eli David.

“During the investigation into this whole clusterfuck, as Secretary Gates put it, several red flags went up when looking into David’s placement at NCIS and on the MCRT. There were several areas which were wrong for a liaison officer from a foreign government to perform during criminal investigations, like evidence handling and collection, but David also had incredibly high access to NCIS files and their system. _And she used it._ She sent classified information on agents, assets and operations, primarily in the Middle East and Africa, with some from Europe and America, to Mossad. It is unknown what Mossad did with the information or how many operations were compromised or in what way due to her actions but Jennifer Shepard brought a wolf into the fold at NCIS and she didn’t even bother with putting on a sheepskin. Ziva David, an agent of a foreign nation, was given high level access to United States’ top secret materials. Shepard, if she knew, turned a blind eye to the situation due to her own preoccupations.

“We may not be able to send David to jail for killing the scumbag but we can ship her off to Gitmo for being a spy.”

“The President would like to retain good relations with Israel,” said Secretary Gates, “and locking one of their agents in Guantanamo Bay as if they were a terrorist isn’t a good way to do that.”

“She may not be a terrorist, sir,” said Hayden, “but she _is_ a spy. And it wasn’t like she just did it once or twice over a long period. She’s been at NCIS for less than a year and downloaded at least one file a week, _more_ in the beginning of her tenure. From what we have backtracked through the computer records, she accessed over five hundred files and downloaded and presumably forwarded one hundred fifteen files over the ten months or so she was at NCIS. As soon as the first suspicious activity was discovered by the FBI and they contacted us, we revoked her access and she’s been on suspension since three days after Shepard’s death. She hasn’t been told about the fact that her spying has been uncovered. The FBI told her that until she was either cleared or charged, she couldn’t work as a liaison, so she had no need for computer access. She believes it is standard bureaucratic procedure. This _isn’t_ a small issue, sir, and the President needs to understand that. If she was doing this on her own, then Israel and Mossad has more of a problem than we thought, and so do we. If _they_ don’t have the files, then she could be rogue like her brother, and the information could be with Hamas or Al Queda or both. So, either Israel knowingly sent a spy into one of our federal agencies or we have a terrorist mole on our hands, _or_ simply a capitalist, selling the information to the highest bidder. There is no indication of the latter but if she isn’t a sanctioned Israeli spy in this matter, than it has to be considered as a possibility. She would know how to hide the money trail.”

Gates lowered his head into his hands. “I didn’t consider that. Neither did the President, I suspect. Of course, until today I didn’t know the extent of her espionage. One hundred fifteen files?”

Hayden nodded. “We know that she _downloaded_ that many. That doesn’t say that she didn’t make note of information in other files and pass that on piecemeal without having to download the entire file. It is a huge mess, sir. I don’t know what Shepard was thinking.”

The NSA Director, General Keith Alexander, cleared his throat and spoke up for the first time since the meeting began. “I have some insight into that and I believe Director Chertoff has some more. This situation is certainly horrific and the scope has widened beyond all imagining but it _is_ bringing the agencies together to share intel and work to find the answers to the madness that NCIS is immersed in. During the joint investigation into Shepard’s death, Brian Dempsey's death, the hunt for James Dempsey, the search for the leak, and the investigation into Ziva David’s actions, we discovered some heavily encrypted files on Jennifer Shepard’s hard drive in her home office. They were all pertaining to an arms dealer named Rene Benoit, code named, ‘La Grenouille’. And yes, he was born in France.

“It appears that Shepard was obsessed over Benoit. She blamed him for the death of her father, Jasper Shepard. Records indicate that Shepard, Senior committed suicide after being implicated in Benoit’s dealings but Jennifer Shepard was clear in her encrypted files that she believed Benoit had murdered him to protect himself. She felt that her father was innocent and a full investigation would have cleared him. After his death, his guilt was assumed and the matter hushed up. Shepard has used her connections as she rose in the ranks at NCIS to keep tabs on him and once she became Director, she agreed to appoint Ziva David to a team if Mossad passed her intel on her target.

“Shepard was in the middle of creating an undercover operation, unsanctioned, obviously, which would lead to her being able to kill Benoit. She planned to send an agent to play up to Benoit’s daughter, Jeanne Benoit. The girl is a doctor at a local hospital and has no connection to her father's business that we have been able to determine. She was raised by her mother who is divorced from Rene Benoit and has been for quite some time.

“Shepard didn’t care how hurt the girl would be, she felt it was only fair and very Biblical. She ranted on in her notes about Benoit playing her to get to her father, so she would play his daughter to get to him. But there was no indication in the file on Jasper Shepard that Jennifer Shepard was even in the area when her father died or during his alleged illegal activities. It really was strange.”

Director Chertoff waved a hand lightly in the air. “That’s where I begin. Jennifer Shepard was in the early stages of a very rare degenerative disease. _Mentally_ degenerative. It is unlikely that she yet had an inkling of a _serious_ problem. She doesn’t seem to have, at any rate. But it could have been affecting her cognitively for years. According to the tests performed after her death, she would have only begun feeling _physical_ effects in the last month or two of her life. Eventually she would have been unable to walk or control most of her motor functions and she would have been deep into dementia and hallucinations. It is possible, indeed probable, that Shepard’s obsession with Benoit and her beliefs that he had used her to get to her father, were entirely made up within her own degenerating mind.”

Director Mueller spoke up. “Rene Benoit is an arms dealer and dirty as hell but he’s also on the payroll, so to speak, of the CIA and the FBI. We use him to gather intel on other dealers and deals and to occasionally pass along a ‘special’ package to his buyers. Shepard would have never gotten far with her plan without her agent being made. The CIA has an undercover deep in Benoit’s organization and he keeps tabs on everything that happens around him, which includes the daughter he loves. He doesn’t see her much but she is a weak spot for him and so Shepard’s agent would have been outed, at least to the CIA if not to Benoit himself, fairly early. It would have been a highly dangerous assignment on many levels for whatever schmuck she chose who didn’t turn her down.”

Secretary Gates shook his head. “It’s all a moot point now. She didn’t have an opportunity to begin her plan. She died a - hero’s death - in the line of duty, so to speak. Though it is good to know that Secretary Davenport's predecessor wasn’t as off in his judgment as it seemed when he appointed her to replace Director Morrow. If this illness of hers was so rare and so obviously long term and slow, then there was no way of knowing she was insane, or well on her way, at least. And the public doesn’t need to know. I’ll inform the President, of course, and he’ll be pleased to know there was a reason behind her idiotic placement of David with the MCRT. And for it to be an investigative team and not a counterterrorist unit. They would have kept a much closer eye on what she was accessing. So, David would have wanted to be on a normal team and Shepard likely didn’t care, as long as she satisfied her obsession and got the information she wanted from Mossad.

“Now, I’ll arrange to contact Mossad and find out if we have an even larger cluster on our hands than I suspected. If David was passing the intel she stole to terrorists, one way or another, then she is definitely headed to Guantanamo Bay, if not worse. If she was working at the behest of Mossad, well, that’s a decision to be made above our pay grades, gentlemen. The President will have to deal with the Israelis on the issue if that is the case, but I doubt she’ll remain here in our custody, either way. For now, we’ll keep her under surveillance and on ‘suspension’ from her liaison position.”

Deputy Director Morrow spoke up, “I am rather glad to know this information about Jennifer Shepard’s illness. I was always rather fond of her. She was an excellent agent and the things I had been hearing out of NCIS since I left had been worrying me. The largest example being the framing of Agent DiNozzo by Charles Sterling. The man spent weeks at NCIS in the forensic lab and used his access to try to frame the man for murder, a murder that didn’t even happen in reality.”

Director Mueller interjected his own intel, “Yes, we arrested him until Ms. Sciuto was able to find evidence of the murder not being murder. Then we learned that Sterling was a former employee of a lab shut down for mishandling evidence. He blamed DiNozzo for losing his job even though DiNozzo didn’t even know who he was. DiNozzo had accused someone else but he had proven in court that the bad evidence was processed through a secondary lab, Sterling’s lab. Sterling didn’t even change his name when he applied at NCIS, he barely even tweaked his resume. And Sciuto didn’t want him, she was clear on that in her interviews after DiNozzo’s release. But Shepard forced him on her and into her lab. She couldn’t have even done more than a cursory look at his background. It was sloppy.”

“Well, her illness explains many things,” said Gates. “Now, I’d like to move the focus back to the other members of the MCRT. And we might as well start at the top. I’ve heard some things about Gibbs before today and new disturbing information today. I’ve never met the man, though, and would appreciate a better view of him.”

Mueller nodded. “Other than Deputy Director Morrow, I probably know him and of him most. Gibbs is a stubborn bastard, sir. He takes pride in it. He boasts that the second B in his name stands for bastard. He is a good investigator and is a pit bull when he gets his teeth into something, like the situation with Ari Haswari, but it can backfire as well. Admiral Cresswell spoke earlier about Gibbs’ defensiveness. He’s also very territorial. His interaction with other agencies and with local law enforcement is horrendous. He’s well known around the District and its surrounds as horrible to work with. And his management style, from all I’ve heard and seen, is atrocious. We’ve had a number of joint cases with the MCRT of NCIS, some quite high profile, and he isn't shy about how he treats his team, even in public.” He looked at Morrow steadily. “You really fell down on that one, Tom. Gibbs and NCIS are lucky not to have been sued, especially by DiNozzo. You let Gibbs have his head completely and the power trip took over with him.”

Morrow frowned at the rebuke but nodded once in acknowledgement as Secretary Gates asked for clarification, “What exactly are you referring to, Bob? I seem to be out of the loop if the looks on the faces of the rest of these gentlemen are any indication.”

Bob Mueller let out a groan. “Gibbs has a very flat management style. Though DiNozzo is his Senior Field Agent, he often treats him, even in public, like a probationary agent. One of his preferred methods of disciplining his agents, usually DiNozzo, is to smack them on the back of the head. Usually quite hard. I’d heard about his - technique - long before I saw it in action. He claims loudly that a smack to the back of the head is a wake-up call, where a smack to the face is a humiliation. I always assumed he was just tapping, like a light swat to a child’s bottom, more to startle than anything, until I saw a video of him doing it to DiNozzo. They were in public, at a Navy contractor’s and DiNozzo was obviously doing his job but said something that Gibbs didn't appreciate and Gibbs smacked him, hard, more on the side of the head near the ear than the rear of the head. It was in front of lots of people, and so far beyond regulations. Gibbs has a hard hand and DiNozzo is lucky he’s never gotten a concussion or knocked over by the smacks.”

Gates gaped at him. “Are you serious? He smacks his subordinates? I don’t care if it’s in public or in private, that isn't acceptable. And a smack to the back of the head is dangerous _and_ humiliating. Regardless of anything else, this has to stop. Or I’ll stop it by making sure he’s prosecuted for assault. If you’ve seen it on one tape, presumably connected to a case, then I’m sure there are plenty more out there. I’ll _bury_ him. Wasn’t Gibbs a Marine? I know he didn't learn that idiocy there. And how flat, other than the assaults, would you say his management chain is, Tom?”

Tom Morrow huffed out a breath. “I like Jethro. He _is_ a good investigator. But he has issues with chain of command. I admit that I let him get away with more than I should. And I should have put a stop to the smacks right away but it just seemed so innocuous at first and by the time I saw better, it was so ingrained and accepted, I - I screwed it up and let it slide. But Jethro truly does have issues with COC. I don’t know where it comes from - he certainly couldn’t have gotten away with ignoring it in the Marines - maybe it stems from childhood and dislike of authority figures. I don’t know. I’m not a psychologist and Gibbs is able to run rings around the ones he needs to see for a mandatory review. But Gibbs pushes at those in authority over him. I usually pushed back but I admit there were times when I didn’t. As for his team, DiNozzo was alone with him, just the two of them for quite some time. Gibbs had run off a lot of agents and was working solo when he found this young detective in Baltimore and recruited him. They worked well together, and though I tried, I couldn’t get an agent to stay for long, Gibbs is too much of a bastard to work with, especially if he doesn’t like you or feels forced to take you on.

“Eventually, Gibbs worked a case that coincided with the Secret Service and took to one of their agents. Scuttlebutt had it that he was attracted to her or was actually sleeping with her, especially since she had resigned from the Secret Service for sexual improprieties. I don’t think that was the case but I did allow him to recruit her. It wasn’t my best decision but she wasn’t _horrible_. Agent Todd learned to be a good investigator though I must say her touted profiling skills were worse than mine.

“But once she joined Gibbs and DiNozzo, and later when McGee was added, both agents at Gibbs’ behest, the chain of command was thrust aside by Gibbs. I personally heard him tell Todd that the only one she needed to listen to and obey was him. Even though DiNozzo was the Senior Field Agent, her superior in the chain of command and frankly, her superior in being able to do the job.

“I know we’re discussing Agent Gibbs right now and that Agent Todd’s behavior is moot since she was killed in the line of duty, but I feel a discussion of her would be helpful. It highlights Gibbs’ blind spots and lack of support for his SFA, as well as his management style when in charge of a larger team. Because, I can tell you, when it was just Gibbs and DiNozzo, they worked like a well-oiled machine. And DiNozzo never got a head slap. But once Todd was added, things began to fall apart.

“Gibbs convinced me to hire Todd on the basis of her purported profiling skills. But the fact was that while she may have had the training, she didn’t utilize it. She let her own feelings get in the way, whether being convinced that a Catholic sailor couldn’t have committed suicide or a terrorist had kind eyes or overidentifying with a Jane Doe. And she never looked past the masks that people wear - she just took everyone at face value from all I could tell.”

“You’re holding back, Tom. Don’t do that,” said Director Chertoff. “Be frank. I know one can be hesitant to speak ill of the dead but we need the facts.”

“Yes, fine. Todd was brought into NCIS as a probationary agent. She should have been given jobs based on that status but most of the time, Gibbs let her get away with refusing them and forcing them on DiNozzo. There was a case where a sailor had jumped overboard and when Todd found out from his grieving mother that they were Catholic, like Todd herself, she refused to believe that it was a suicide. In that case she was correct _in a way_ . The man _wasn’t_ suicidal, he was insane. He believed that he was the immortal character he played in some computer game and that he’d be able to breathe under water and walk to shore. But Todd was adamant and refused to see another viewpoint other than a Catholic not killing themselves due to it being a mortal sin. Which anyone with knowledge of the real world would know was bull. Catholics, even fully practicing Catholics, commit suicide every day. But she was blinded and Gibbs never took her to task for it or for the sloppy profiling.

“And when Todd was taken hostage in autopsy by Ari Haswari, she had a chance to kill him with a scalpel she had palmed. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. When questioned on the matter, all she could say was that she felt he had kind eyes and wasn’t actually a bad person. A terrorist who broke into NCIS, stole evidence, held hostages, and shot two people, albeit not fatally, had kind eyes?!? It was preposterous.

“And the worst case of her terrible profiling that Gibbs never even protested or reprimanded her for, indeed he abetted her in her actions, was when a woman clawed her way out of a shallow grave with bad head injuries which caused amnesia. Agent Todd felt so sorry for the woman, who claimed all she remembered was a bomb on a Navy ship, that she told the doctors at the hospital that the woman was her cousin and took her home with her. The woman _did_ legitimately have amnesia but it was temporary and Todd was so wrapped up in her initial impressions that she missed the woman’s memories returning and then took her to the office where she had worked. The woman, Suzanne McNeill, if I recall correctly, then proceeded to take a small bomb from her work area, where she built and tested them for the Navy. This was the bomb on a Navy ship, it was a mock up, and McNeil  blew up herself, her former lover, and the lobby of Bombe Fernentdeckung Fabrik. Agent Todd never saw it coming.

“Gibbs never even addressed the issues with Todd. And there were more, as well. I admit, I was fairly hands off, especially with Gibbs team. I was just happy that he found a team that he wasn’t chasing off. But - well, in hindsight, I should have stepped in, numerous times. I shouldn’t have hired Todd in the first place. But Gibbs’ last hire had worked out so well and had been responsible for a significant rise in closure rates, I hoped lightning would strike twice and his infamous gut would be correct.”

“Well, it wasn’t, evidently. And Agent Todd ended up paying for her misjudgments with her life, since she didn’t kill the terrorist who eventually killed her.” Secretary Gates replied. “That’s harsh, I know, but the truth often is. Are you _sure_ Gibbs wasn’t sleeping with her? I would have thought a self-described bastard would have come down hard on things like he let slide.”

Morrow shook his head. “There was plenty of scuttlebutt, like I said earlier, but I never believed it. Todd was - well, frankly, prudish. I don’t think she would have done the casting couch with Gibbs.”

“Wait, I thought she had to resign due to sexual impropriety.”

Morrow nodded. “She was in the Secret Service on the President’s protection detail and she had a relationship with one of his football handlers, which was against regulations. It all came out when the replacement handler dropped dead - poisoned - on Air Force One, and later her lover dropped dead of the same poison in his car.”

FBI Director Mueller input his two cents. “Speaking of that case on Air Force One, Tom, there were a lot of - questionable - things going on there.”

Morrow winced. “Yes. Gibbs never has played well with others.”

“He stole the body. He stole the plane!”

“No, he convinced the FBI and most of the Secret Service on site to leave the plane and then convinced Todd to tell the pilot to head to DC. He convinced the local Medical Examiner to hold the body and release it to Doctor Mallard.”

Mueller nodded. “In return for soft-shell crabs, if I recall the report correctly.”

“Whatever works.”

Mueller huffed, a sound between a laugh and a grunt. “But he _did_ steal the body, Tom. He stuck Agent DiNozzo in a body bag and let Fornell take that one while he took the real body to NCIS. And he proceeded to call DiNozzo when he got the body there.”

Morrow frowned. “And _your_ agents proceeded to toss the body bag, still zipped, onto the freeway. DiNozzo could have been killed, run over, broken his neck in the roll down the highway. Not at all professional, Bob.”

“The whole case wasn’t professional, start to finish, Tom. The president came within feet of being killed by a sleeper agent posing as a reporter.”

“But Gibbs stopped it.”

“By being a cowboy.”

“Whatever works.”

Secretary Gates interrupted their pissing match, “That is the exact problem, right there, gentlemen. Whatever works, the ends justifies the means, it was for the greater good - these are _not_ how we want our law enforcement to behave. And I’m not sure Gibbs isn’t too old of a dog to learn new tricks. I know that several of you are afraid of him. He’s been around a long time and while I know he doesn’t _play_ the game, he knows where a lot of the bodies, metaphorical and otherwise, are buried. You don’t want to take him on. His problem right now is that - I - don’t - care. _And_ I have an ace up my sleeve. A good friend of mine has a sister who came to talk to me about Gibbs and her concerns about him after Shepard’s death made the news. I know where some of Gibbs’ bodies are buried thanks to that conversation. We can’t afford to have a rogue cowboy agent like Gibbs leading one of the premier teams at NCIS and while I agree he has things he could teach agents, I don’t want him in his current position any longer. Times are changing and Gibbs is a dinosaur. Let’s move on. I’ve been hearing and reading good things about Agent DiNozzo, so let’s discuss his role in this mess.”

The other men at the table looked at one another in discomfort before Tom Morrow took up the gauntlet. “I first met Tony DiNozzo when we shared a case with Baltimore PD. He was a detective, youngest to get a gold shield and seriously impressed Agent Gibbs. Something went on during that case, something that shook DiNozzo, Gibbs wouldn’t tell me for sure but I suspect they uncovered corruption, at the time untouchable corruption, in the unit. Gibbs came to me and told me he wanted DiNozzo as his partner, that he thought he could be trained up as a federal agent and eventually take Gibbs’ place as lead of the MCRT when he was ready to retire. I agreed to give the man a trial run. And as I discussed earlier, it worked quite well.

“At first I was concerned about his work record; three police departments: Peoria, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, in about six years. But after I put time into looking deeper, I found out the reasons behind the hopping. According to several sources, the official reason DiNozzo left Peoria was to move to a larger department with better opportunities, the unofficial reason, and true one, was because of blatant corruption throughout the department. He kept his mouth shut because the corruption was widespread and my source told me that DiNozzo couldn’t be sure Internal Affairs wasn’t in on it and he had been subtly and unproveably threatened. The source told me cops were blatantly dealing drugs from the evidence locker, as well as absconding with other evidence, weapons, cash, crucial DNA or fingerprints. It was a bad situation all around, and he actually did the smartest thing.

“I was also told that six months after DiNozzo left, two cops were killed in a ‘friendly fire’ incident during a shootout with drug dealers. They had a supposedly secret meeting with detectives in the Internal Affairs division but within twenty-four hours of that meeting, they were dead. DiNozzo left behind evidence with a friend in the District Attorney’s office he was sure wasn’t in on it, _correctly_ , and it was later used, ten months after the deaths of those two cops, as part of the case that took down over forty percent of the Peoria PD, including the Chief and Deputy Chief of Police and _eighty percent_ of the officers in Internal Affairs.

“That must have been a hard choice for such a young man to make,” said Secretary Gates. “But at least he didn’t get involved. He did the right thing all around.”

Morrow and the other men all nodded their agreements and the discussion continued. “DiNozzo did incredibly well in Philadelphia and likely would have stayed there long term but he was put undercover with the largest of the local mobs and though he broke the back of the family, he had been trusted at the highest of levels and the don put a hit out on him. But the man had been so impressed by DiNozzo and actually cared about him so much, that he specified the hit would only pay out if DiNozzo was taken out while _in_ Philadelphia. If he left the city, he would be safe and anyone going after him and claiming he had been in the city when he wasn’t would be handled with extreme prejudice. According to the Chief of Detectives, who encouraged DiNozzo to move on after two near misses, the boy had saved the life of the don’s granddaughter by jumping into a river during a flood, when she fell in while playing near the edge with a ball. DiNozzo easily could have died in the swift current; it was evidently filled with debris from recent storms, tree limbs and such, but he didn’t even hesitate. And DiNozzo claimed he hadn’t even realized who it was who had fallen in, he just saw a small body splash in and he kicked off his shoes, tore off his coat, and dove in.”

“A real unsung hero,” murmured Director Chertoff.

“So,” continued Morrow, “then he went to Baltimore where he moved up the ranks swiftly and then left after what I suspect was more corruption. But I can't prove it. And he moved to NCIS where his presence increased Gibbs’ solve rate by over seven percent and his conviction rate - I remember this stat because Admiral Chegwidden bragged about it at the time - by nearly fifteen percent. The solve rate didn’t go up at all when Agent Todd was added to the team, just as it had barely jiggled when other agents came and went from their team. It went up by less than half a percent when McGee was added to the team but from my research lately, I discovered it went back down to the previous levels when Officer David joined them.”

Admiral Creswell spoke up, “Agent McGee did help the conviction rate of the team with his computer knowledge but there were only a limited number of cases where that made or broke a case.”

Director Mueller nodded. “DiNozzo is a wonderful agent. Agent Fornell has tried to convince him several times to join the Bureau but he isn’t budging from NCIS. Indeed, I found letters in his file from when he was in both Philadelphia and Baltimore suggesting he be recruited and detailing his refusals at that time.”

Secretary Gates’ eyebrows rose. “Well, that’s quite an interesting thing, isn’t it? Timing is everything, as they say. So, does anyone have anything negative to say about Agent DiNozzo?”

Morrow spoke up, “DiNozzo isn’t perfect, sir. He’s got a bit of a juvenile sense of humor, spit balls, super glued drawers or phones, things like that. He puts up a mask of the eternal playboy frat house guy and sometimes takes the mask too far. Not everyone sees through it but it disarms suspects. And he’s a flirt. Never over the line but he skirts right up against it. Though again, he uses his charm to get information that he wouldn’t otherwise have. He also lets his desire to please Gibbs push him to potentially cross the line into bad behavior for a law enforcement officer. He’s never illegal but I can see the day where Gibbs’ approval would be so necessary to him that he crossed and didn’t look back, probably to protect Jethro in some way, _never_ for his own gain. DiNozzo is intensely loyal when it has been earned and I’ve heard him called Gibbs’ loyal Saint Bernard.”

“Hmmm,” Gates’ eyes lidded halfway. “But that won’t be an issue anymore. Gibbs is gone, or as good as, at any rate. All right, what about Agent McGee?”

NSA Director General Alexander decided to take over. “Agent Timothy McGee is an excellent agent for what his specialty is, I’m sure. He has advanced degrees from prestigious universities and is well able to explain his work product on the stand. However, the issue with Agent McGee is his blind obedience to orders, orders that don’t just _skirt_ the line of illegality but cross it with regularity. McGee is well known since joining the MCRT at NCIS and entering Gibbs’ orbit, as a man to watch out for if you want your secure files to remain private. There have been numerous times where McGee has been backtracked and shown he has hacked into files at the NSA, CIA, FBI, and other agencies, including private ones, to get information on an active case. He’s very shy and unassuming and I can just hear him claim that he was ‘just following orders, sir’. There _is_ potential there but he needs a refresher in computer hacking laws and a better mentor than Gibbs who wants what he wants when he wants it and doesn’t care how you get it.”

Gates nodded, “Again, Gibbs is not an issue anymore.”

Secretary of the Navy Davenport coughed lightly. “I do have something I wanted to bring up in relation to Agent McGee. My nephew brought it to my attention just three days ago so I haven’t been able to do much about it yet but - my nephew works at a large publishing firm and brought a new crime novel to my attention. It’s set at NCIS and his boss was having it published in a few months. He wanted to know how over the top it was and if NCIS was really that stupid. I read the thing in one night, not something I would have done without this whole situation happening, and realized that the author, Thom E. Gemcity was a penname for Agent McGee. It is an anagram of his name: Timothy McGee. The book is called Deep Six: The Continuing Adventures of LJ Tibbs. It is modeled ridiculously close to the MCRT, from Tibbs’ head slaps and building of boats in this basement, to the skirt chasing Agent Tommy, to the Mossad liaison officer Lisa and the Goth lab tech Amy and medical examiner Doctor Moulard, nicknamed Goosey. And I can only pray that the medical assistant Pimmy Jalmer’s fantasies about the corpses he works on are all in McGee’s twisted head, otherwise we have more of an issue than before. The book isn’t yet on the shelves but it won’t be long, maybe four weeks. I suggest that some people contact the publishing house as well as the people portrayed and find out what they want to do because I can see this book generating lawsuits, if not being an issue with national security. He so closely modeled the team, what are the odds that he didn’t use classified material from cases, as well? It could lead to poisoned juries if cases haven’t gone to trial, or even dismissals due to things revealed in the book. McGee obviously doesn’t know or doesn’t think about the real world when writing. Or rather, he thinks too much about the real world as he writes. The damn thing could practically be called an autobiography with the names (and _only_ the names) changed, and that barely, at points.”

The SecNav reached beneath his chair and pulled out his briefcase, taking a book from inside it. “I brought the copy here today. Anyone who knew NCIS and even read the back cover would recognize things.” He reads aloud:

 

 

> The year is 2006. L.J. Tibbs is rebellious by nature and scarred by childhood tragedy in the southern community of Specter. An outcast in his own world, he drinks to alleviate the burden of his Messianic complex.
> 
> The aftermath of one of his hair-raising investigations finds L.J. Tibbs right in the middle of an unspeakable crime that cost a young woman her life. Tibbs finds himself trapped in the underworld of a local crime syndicate which has a need to administer a terrifying revenge on the family members of a rival family. But the revenge they seek is a two-edged sword, and the price is Tibbs' own sanity as he recklessly pursues his quarry.

He opens the book to a few marked pages and continues, “Swashbuckling, socially repugnant Special Agent Tommy; sultry and emotionally distant Mossad officer Lisa; Pimmy Jalmer who dreams of copulating with corpses.” He closed the book and looked at the other men. “Do I need to continue?”

“Good Lord!” Secretary Gates was apoplectic. “Is the man insane? I’ve never met them and I can tell who he is talking about. And I suspect the McGregor, is that right, McGregor character is a hero and the others are foils for him?”

“The medical assistant?” queried Admiral Cresswell, “Pimmy Jalmer?”

SecNav nodded. “Based off of the actual assistant, Jimmy Palmer. In order to have the name make sense with the changes of letters, McGee made the fictional version Polynesian.”

The Judge Advocate General sighed. “Of course. But still, Pimmy Jalmer? When the real assistant is Jimmy Palmer? It’s - God, no I do _not_ want to deal with this, Philip. That boy would have every right to sue McGee for every penny, and possibly drag NCIS itself into it depending on how this is handled. Assuming the, Jesus, the necrophilia is just a hook for McGee’s sales, it is libel and if he brings it up in any television or radio interviews when he does publicity for the book, it is also slander. Considering you said they are fantasies in Palmer's head, then I have to assume they’re in McGee’s head and Jimmy Palmer is _not_ an actual necrophiliac. I don’t even know how to approach this one. To use your co-workers to such an extent and if he used any classified materials… This is a major problem, gentlemen.”

Director Mueller sat forward, “If he put any of my agents in that piece of filth -”

Secretary Gates sighed. “Yes, indeed. This needs to be dealt with. ASAP. Have some people in your office go through that thing with a fine tooth comb, Gordon. As lawyers they should know what it is actionable and will hopefully be able to put together any _actual_ cases with what he put in the book. Just tell them to be quick. If Philip’s nephew is accurate we don’t have much time to file an injunction to stop the book. And that looks like a finished copy to me, Philip.”

SecNav shook his head. “I asked my nephew. This is what is called an advance reader copy or ARC. An ARC is a free copy of a new book, not fully edited or with potential changes still to come, given by a publisher to booksellers, journalists, celebrities, or others, before the book is printed for mass distribution. So there are a few copies of this out there to drum up interest and such and to get quotes by reviewers but mass distribution starts in less than three weeks. So we have at most four weeks and maybe a few days to stop it from hitting the shelves of your local bookstore.”

“Got it,” said Admiral Cresswell. “We’ll get right on it.”

Secretary Gates raised his hand. “Fine. That is going to be dealt with shortly. Hopefully we can avert any disasters. But for now we need to turn our attention to NCIS as a whole. Frankly, Gibbs’ team isn’t the only thing flat in the management area. And it needs to be fixed. The President and I came up with an idea and I’d like your inputs.”


	3. The Fallout

 

Tony DiNozzo clipped his black banded badge onto his belt as he passed through security. As his fingers slid over the ribbon, he sighed internally and thought about lost chances and missed opportunities. So much had happened in the past few weeks, Tony felt overwhelmed by the grief, one after another.

First came Director Shepard’s kidnapping and grisly death. The pursuant investigation by the FBI had shaken them all and Gibbs was _not_ dealing with his grief in any rational kind of manner. Most of those at NCIS had no idea why it was hitting him so hard, and not being able to participate in the hunt for her killer or for the leak who gave Dempsey inside information had not helped his mood.

Tony understood though. After being burned by Danny, Tony hadn’t been quite as willing to trust his instincts about people, at least people who weren’t suspects or witnesses. People he let into his life. Between the time Gibbs had pointed him toward the NCIS Human Resources office and his start at FLETC, Tony had done some research into one Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and had discovered the great tragedy in his life, the deaths of his wife and his young daughter at the hands of a drug dealer. It wasn’t really buried deeply. There had been numerous articles in the papers about the case when it happened. But he had quickly learned that Gibbs didn’t talk about his late family, that very few people at NCIS knew about them, not even Ducky or Abby. So, Tony had kept his mouth shut, something that would probably shock McGee’s little computerized heart, that Tony was able to keep a secret. Not even Gibbs _himself_ knew that _Tony_ knew about Shannon and Kelly Gibbs.

Ari had done his homework on Gibbs as well. Or, more accurately, Ziva had done Ari’s homework for him. She hadn’t gone in depth on the rest of them, but Gibbs, it really wasn’t hard information to dig up. So, Ari had targeted Kate, then Abby, then _possibly_ Director Shepard. Kate had been the only fatality, or even injury, of that period.

Only this time Gibbs wasn’t able to take out his grief by chasing down the bad guys. He was sidelined and even worse, put on desk work, cold cases for the entire MCRT until Dempsey and the leak were caught. And with a three man team until Ziva was cleared for her role in Brian Dempsey’s death. _If_ she was cleared and not charged. Tony was pretty sure she had killed the guy, possibly accidentally, but her threats had always been close to the surface and her skill set was lethal.

But the investigation was ongoing and Gibbs was on cold cases with Tony and McGee and none of them were heating up again. Tony had solved two, both with suspects who were now dead (and had been for years) and McGee had been able to find some new computer evidence on another but it hadn’t led anywhere new. Then James Dempsey had been killed by the FBI during his apprehension and the leak was discovered to be the very man Gibbs had brushed off as unimportant when he went to talk to Cynthia about the Director’s kidnapping.

More time on cold cases as Gibbs and Cynthia were under investigation into their actions which led to the man, Dempsey’s lawyer, having information about Shepard’s kidnapping and Brian Dempsey’s death, just when it was all wrapping up and hope was rising that the team would be back on rotation, another major blow, for the agency _and_ for Tony personally.

A case that should have been given to the MCRT was taken by another team, a team led by Tony’s old flame, Paula Cassidy. A ship, the _Bakir Kahmir_ , had come into port carrying an undercover NCIS agent. Paula’s job was supposed to be to check all of the sailors on the ship and take the undercover into custody on a phony charge. But something had gone horrifically wrong along the way and the man had run, according to witnesses, with Paula giving chase. Then, from what Abby and Ducky had been able to piece together from the evidence, she had cornered him in a laundry room where the man had set off a bomb, killing her. It was suspected he had been trying to fake his own death, having already killed the actual undercover and placing his body in the drum that held the bomb.

But Paula’s team was sharp. They had been prepared for anything and rather than monitoring from the car, they had hidden on the docks. Agent James Nelson had heard the explosion and approached the ship from cover. He saw the terrorist jump over the side of the ship and gave chase, alerting a nearby Coast Guard ship of his location. The ship herded the swimmer to shore where the man came at Nelson with a knife. Nelson took the shot and killed him, avenging Paula in the process and stopping whatever sinister plot the terrorist, since identified as Pinpin Pula, had in motion.

Tony had been having difficult feelings since Paula’s death. He had truly cared deeply for the other agent at one time but he had let Gibbs’ disapproval of relationships between NCIS agents, his vaunted Rule Twelve, push them apart. And if they had been able to keep Jenny Shepard safe, it would have been Tony’s team to take the mission on the ship, Tony’s team to face off against the terrorist, most likely Gibbs in the explosion, or possibly, though less likely, Tony himself. He felt guilty for being glad that the MCRT had been off rotation, for being glad Gibbs wasn’t dead, that he himself wasn’t dead.

Tony knew and understood the psychology. Tony knew he wasn’t glad Paula _was_ dead, he was just glad it _wasn’t_ someone he was currently close to. He was struggling with survivor's guilt. Paula had been a good person, a hardass and tough as nails inside a beautiful shell. And now she was gone, killed in the line of duty, a hero.

Tony sighed internally once more as he shoved his feelings deep into the box inside his heart until he could afford to deal with them. He stepped off the elevator and into the bullpen. Gibbs was at his desk, a quick glance showing two coffee cups already in the trashcan and another steaming on his desk. So, he was just back from a coffee run and was well caffeinated and had obviously been in for a few hours. McGee was at his desk, typing away at his computer at lightning-fast speed, likely cruising the information superhighway looking for info on the fraud cold case he was working on.

“Morning, Gibbs. Morning, McGee.”

Gibbs grunted and McGee stopped typing to stare at Tony for a moment, likely shocked that Tony hadn’t mangled his name. But there was method to his madness, Tony mused to himself. He had news.

“SecNav’s in the building.” McGee’s eyes widened and Gibbs looked up at him. Tony continued, “I saw his car out front as I was parking. Something’s finally coming down. Not sure I like the fact that it’s SecNav and not someone else, like Vance.”

McGee swallowed visibly. “He - he could be just here to - um - introduce the new Director formally, after - um - everything, a full ceremonial thing…”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Possibly but not likely. He’s never done it before. Well, this is his first rodeo as SecNav, but _none_ of them have done it before. It was always a fairly low key handoff, like when Morrow left.”

McGee straightened. “Yeah, but that’s just it. He’s a new SecNav. Maybe he wants to do things differently. Put on a show. You know, for morale after, well, after what’s happened lately.”

Gibbs grunted and shook his head. “No press. SecNav’s not going to do a big hoopla with no press around. He’s a politician.”

Tony nodded. “That’s what I figured. So, this bodes ominously. If he was just appointing Vance or someone else like always, he would’ve done it from _his_ office. He wouldn’t have come here like a supplicant. The new Director would have been the supplicant. SecNav would have wanted to show _he_ had the power, not Vance. Or whoever gets the job.”

McGee cocked his head. “Vance is next in line.”

Tony huffed a laugh. “Good for him. But he hasn’t been in his deputy position long. Morrow promoted him to the spot about three months before he left. So, he’s only been a Deputy Director for a year and change. And after everything, I don’t know that SecNav would want another relatively inexperienced, relatively young Director.”

“Vance isn’t young, Tony!” objected McGee.

Tony rolled his eyes. “I said relatively, McGee. _Relatively_ young. He’s the same age as Director Shepard was. And she didn’t have a whole lot of experience in management when she became Director, either.”

“But-”

Tony sighed. “Look, McGee, getting promoted up the ranks is great and to aspire to the spot is a nice dream. But it doesn’t always work. They may bring someone in from the outside or they may promote someone over Vance who has more life experience. And frankly, Vance already has a big black eye from the whole - from the - after Paula’s death. So, somehow, I don’t think it’s going to be same old, same old, McGee. Or it would have been a quiet handoff, through memos and email. Vance is already _in_ the office as interim. So, no, something’s up. And I may not have Gibbs’ gut but _my_ life experience is telling me that it isn’t going to be overly pleasant. For some, maybe, but not for everyone. We might want to batten down the hatches, Boss.”

“Nothing we can do, DiNozzo. Whatever’s been decided is out of our hands. For now, FBI still hasn’t finished their investigation into Ziva and Brian Dempsey. Damn Fibbies dragging their useless feet. And now, SecNav’s here, we ain’t going back on rotation ‘til this afternoon, at the earliest.”

Tony nodded. “Back to cold cases and paperwork, got it, Boss.”

 

Two hours later Tony was seated in the large conference room on the first floor, waiting for Gibbs to arrive from his private meeting with SecNav. Gibbs had been called up about twenty minutes after Tony had arrived in the bullpen and fifteen minutes after that a general urgent notification had gone out to all Team Leads and Senior Field Agents for this meeting.

Looking around, Tony saw agents from SVU, Fraud, Cyber Crimes, Counter Intelligence/Counter Terrorism, and Drug Enforcement, all from the Navy Yard divisions. But he also saw agents from several nearby Resident Agencies and two agents that he knew were Agents Afloat from ships currently in port in Norfolk. Vance was present front and center, but facing the podium, not the audience. There were also several screens in place around the room which were coming online filled with split screen images of other Resident Agencies and Resident Units, both in the US and overseas.

Whatever was coming down the pike was going to be huge. This wasn’t a setup for a simple introduction of a new director, even if it _wasn’t_ going to be Vance. This was more like a major shakeup.

From the corner of his eye, Tony saw Ducky slide into the room and take a chair to the opposite side just ahead of SecNav’s own entrance. A quick look around assured Tony that he hadn’t missed Gibbs’ entrance. The meeting was about to start and Gibbs was absent. The sinking feeling Tony had in his gut flared to vicious life and he knew his instincts hadn’t been off. This was going to be bad. Bad and _huge_. Changes were coming in like a hurricane and he hoped those he cared about at NCIS would be able to weather the upheaval, though he was pretty sure Gibbs had already become the first casualty of Director Shepard’s death and the ensuing investigation.

As Secretary Davenport approached the podium at the front of the room, conversations stilled and the agents and staff straightened their postures from the relaxed but wary ones that had been present until that moment. He turned to face the men and women in the chain of command of NCIS and smiled grimly.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush about what I’ve come here to tell you all today. You’re grown-ups and shouldn't need your hands held or news sugar coated to handle this. When Director Shepard was murdered by James Dempsey and her body dumped live on ZNN, we believed it would be an open and shut case once the bastard and his accomplices were caught. Tragic, but an honorable death in the line of duty. To the public, that _is_ exactly the party line. I don’t want to hear whispers of anything else. But as the FBI investigated, more and more foul ups were found in this agency. This investigation went all the way to the President’s ear and to be frank, the only reason I’m still the Secretary of the Navy is because I wasn’t the one who appointed Shepard.

“The President and the Secretary of Defense have made it clear, with input from a large number of sources, that NCIS is a clusterfuck of monumental proportions. It is stuck in the dark ages of federal law enforcement in many ways and that isn’t acceptable.  So they intend for that to change. This is a new era, ladies and gentlemen, and we can’t have agents acting like cowboys. We have to follow the law and work with our sister agencies to protect this country and the men and women who serve in the armed forces who protect us in turn.

“As such, from this day forward, as signed by the President of the United States, NCIS will have a large increase in the management structure. Team structures will remain fairly the same, for now, but it has been determined that there was a decided lack of oversight of the leadership of this agency. As such, NCIS will be brought under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security, jointly with the Office of Secretary of the Navy. The top of the chain of command will be as follows: POTUS, SecDef, SecNav, Deputy Director of Homeland Security in charge of NCIS, informally known as Director of NCIS, Deputy Director of NCIS, followed by an Executive Assistant Director, of which there are seven broken down by geography.

Agents in Charge of Operations, who will be present at any locale which has more than four teams or departments, are numerous and also broken down by geography.  Departments include medical and forensics, and they will have their own Team Leads if the department has more than one member at a location. Investigative teams will include Team Leads, Senior Field Agents, Field Agents, and Probationary Field agents.

“As a side note, Probationary Field Agents will retain that status until they have completed _two full_ _years_ of field work. If the probationary agent is a transfer from another agency or a department with appropriate background, the status can be shortened to six months at the minimum. However, just because an agent worked for another agency does not automatically mean they have the requisite background for this shortening of probationary status. Appropriate backgrounds include: Military police, civilian police or detectives, and federal agents from a criminal investigation unit that is in the field at least sixty percent of the time. Any other background will be handled on a case by case basis by the area’s Agent in Charge of Operations in conjunction with the area’s Executive Assistant Director. The Team Lead will _not_ make this determination. This comes directly from the Secretary of Defense, ladies and gentlemen. And he discussed it with the President.”

Tony thought back to Kate Todd and her incredibly short probation period for someone with no investigative background and the trouble it had caused. He’d loved Kate like an annoying cousin and missed her, but Tony had always felt Gibbs had mishandled her arrival on the team. And Tony would bet his movie collection her case was at least _one_ of those which had led to this change. Or rather, this enforcement of the current rules.

Secretary Davenport continued, “The Deputy Director of Homeland Security in charge of NCIS will be based out of DC. This office is currently held by Tom Morrow, the former Director of NCIS. The Deputy Director of NCIS will be stationed here at the Navy Yard and will be Leon Vance, the current interim Director. There are two Executive Assistant Directors here in the area. One will be stationed with Director Morrow in DC and will head the DC, Gitmo, and Atlantic divisions. This is Richard Owens. The other will be stationed here at the Navy Yard and will oversee the Navy Yard base and the East Coast operations, from Canada to Florida, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi. This is Owen Granger. The other Executive Assistant Directors will handle the West Coast, from the Mississippi west and be based in Los Angeles; Europe based in Spain; the Middle East based in Saudi Arabia; Asia and the Pacific which includes Pearl Harbor where the Director will be stationed; and Central/South America stationed in Chile. For information on those appointed to these positions, there will be smaller conferences for those in each area.

“A breakdown of each position and their duties is in the briefing packet you have each received. I don’t want to hear any whining about this. NCIS was a mess and you will all put on your big boy and big girl pants and suck it up! And make sure your teams and those under your purview do the same. New agents come out of FLETC all the time and there will be very little acceptance of mutiny on this subject. Change is here and it will stay. NCIS will be a more modern agency and you will learn to work within it, ladies and gentlemen, or you will get left behind and locked out.”

Davenport left the room and after a few moments of shock, people broke into chatter. All but Tony. He frowned at his shoes and sighed, getting to his feet. He had been informed he had another meeting to attend, a one-on-one with Davenport himself.

 

Tony got the nod from Cynthia to go into the Director’s office for his meeting, though he supposed now it was actually the Deputy Director’s office. He didn’t flirt with the executive assistant as he normally would have before heading in. He wasn’t exactly feeling like his normal light-hearted self and he knew Cynthia had come in for some serious flak regarding her mistakes around the leak during the kidnapping. So it was all very professional, though he did give her a warm and sympathetic smile and got a brief grin in return.

Neither of them were actually interested in the other but Cynthia liked Tony’s normal flirtatiousness since she told him it made her feel more secure in her femininity without feeling creeped on. He flattered her but didn’t rake his eyes over her form like he was mentally undressing her or push her for anything she didn’t want. And all the women in the building, except, ironically his female teammates, realized he would back off if they seriously told him to stop or didn’t return the jabs (a la Kate or Ziva).

Upon entering the office, Tony saw SecNav seated at the head of the conference table and Vance at his right hand. At Davenport’s left hand sat Agent Stan Burley, a sight that caused Tony’s eyebrow to twitch upward momentarily. He realized Stan must be the Agent in Charge of Operations at the Navy Yard. He hoped the man could handle it with his history of ulcers and stress-related (Gibbs stress related) issues. Then again, he had lasted five years with Gibbs before his health couldn’t take it anymore. So he was tough. And had earned his stripes.

Tony took the seat to Stan’s left and sat at near attention in the chair. He wasn’t sure what this meeting was about, but he worried over Gibbs’ continued absence and what Stan’s presence said about it. Tony had hoped Gibbs had been given a promotion which would have explained his not attending the meeting. The promotion would have been fairly foolish on the brass’ end, putting Gibbs riding a desk and paperwork, but it could have happened. He was approaching that age of mandatory retirement from field status soon.

But now, Tony feared the worst. And he didn’t know what it meant for him, though the fact that this meeting _followed_ rather than preceded the main meeting was somewhat encouraging. If he was being forced out of NCIS, he wouldn’t have needed to understand the new command structure.

Secretary Davenport sat forward and crossed his hands over a folder on the table. “Agent DiNozzo, it is a pleasure to meet you in person. I’ve learned quite a bit about you over the past few weeks.”

Tony smiled lightly, a bit shocked and worried. “The pleasure is mine, Mister Secretary.”

“Hmm. Perhaps so. There are changes coming, Agent DiNozzo.”

“Yes, sir.”

“More than the ones I already outlined for everyone. There are major changes coming for the MCRT and this will greatly affect you, son.”

“I suspected something, sir.”

“Oh?”

Tony decided to drop the dumb frat boy mask, it would be a hindrance here and Tony wasn’t stupid. “Yes, sir. First, your very presence here at the Navy Yard this morning suggested heavily that this transition after Director Shepard’s death wouldn’t be the normal low key change. And then when Gibbs didn’t show up at the meeting earlier, and he isn’t here now, I suspect he’s no longer with NCIS. The cowboy agent comment in the meeting rather strongly pointed to Gibbs’ style.”

The Secretary smiled. “Not only Gibbs. There are a number of agents with those tendencies around, but yes, he was one of the worst and certainly the most high profile who hasn’t already retired. And yes, you’re correct, Jethro Gibbs is no longer Lead Agent for the MCRT. After hearing quite a bit about his style of leadership and other things, the Secretary of Defense refused to stand for it. He’ll be fine but he’s not going to be investigating crimes any longer.”

Tony inclined his head, having suspected that Gibbs’ luck had finally run out and his markers had been insufficient to keep his job. Having favors from the upper echelons only works when those directly in charge will bow to the pressure of those favors owed by others. And Gibbs knew plenty of secrets but Tony suspected Gibbs had several secrets of his own that were held over Gibbs’ head as Gibbs held the ones he knew over others’ heads. And now the mutual blackmail wasn’t enough. Tony figured the new SecDef knew something about Gibbs and Gibbs didn’t have dirt in return this time.

“So, Agent DiNozzo, having looked over your full file and talked to several people about - let’s say both your ethics and your out of the box thinking - with Gibbs’ departure, that leaves an opening and with the full backing of everyone who had input, you are being given the Lead Agent position of the MCRT. Not on an interim basis, but straight out. The job is yours. It’s your team now. Agent McGee will remain, for now, as the team’s junior field agent, though I have something I’m going to dump in your lap that needs to be addressed regarding his actions.”

“And Officer David?”

“You tell me, Agent DiNozzo.”

Tony nodded. “All right, sir. Based on what I know and have heard, Ziva is in trouble. I’m not the biggest fan of the FBI but even I know that it wouldn’t take them this long to either clear or charge Ziva for her role, whether direct or indirect, in Brian Dempsey’s death. So, my educated guess is that above and beyond the Dempsey matter, in the investigation things came to light about Ziva’s motivations and actions here in the US and in NCIS specifically, leading back to Mossad and Israel.

“I know that I’ve always been wary of her place on the team. Director Shepard’s forced  appointment of her to the MCRT so soon after Agent Todd's death was always odd to me. Ziva has no background of any kind in law enforcement. She’s a spy, an assassin, an undercover operative, and a handler of other spies, like her brother Ari. I might have been able to understand granting her a place in the CI/CT unit but the MCRT was one of the worst fits imaginable. And her status as a liaison was - murky. I was never clear on her appropriate level of involvement in cases and evidence handling but I tried my best to keep her out of chain of evidence. She didn’t attend FLETC and there wasn’t a clear way to show her status in a case. Not to mention her disregard of American laws, from traffic laws to breaking and entering with lockpicks. But I had no leg to stand on to object directly. I noted my concerns in my paperwork, but both Director Shepard and eventually Agent Gibbs, wanted her on the team.”

Davenport smiled and even Vance looked impressed. “Very good, Agent DiNozzo. Yes, Officer David was one of the worst mistakes the late director made. Shepard had her reasons, personal ones which I won’t get into, but good eye. And I read your notes and I concur. Not that it matters at this point. Officer David will not be returning to NCIS. Nor will she be returning to the US. Given your new clearance level I can tell you David is on the hook for major espionage and spying and passing US government intelligence to a foreign agency. Possibly, _hopefully_ , Mossad. Depending on the outcome of this investigation into her actions and who received the intelligence she stole, she will either be deported and kept out or jailed in Guantanamo Bay.”

Tony’s eyes had widened the more that he heard. “I wouldn’t be too shocked if she had given intel to Mossad, sir. She was constantly flaunting what she perceived to be Mossad’s superiority over NCIS. But, sir, you think she might have been a double agent like her brother?”

“We aren’t sure yet, Agent DiNozzo. But the whole thing stinks to high heaven. She’s not your problem. Agent McGee is still much too green to be a Senior Field Agent, so I have a short list of candidates for you to choose from. And here’s where the major change in the structure of the MCRT is coming. All of these agents are close to being able to head their own teams - they need a year or eighteen months in a place like the MCRT and they’ll be ready. So, that's what will happen, Agent DiNozzo. You’ll be Team Lead and the stable position on the MCRT. The SFA will change every year to eighteen months and once you’ve settled, in a few weeks, you’ll get a rotating probationary field agent, changed every eight to fourteen months, depending on various factors. The MCRT’s solve rate, _and_ it was pointed out to me, their _conviction_ rate, went up significantly when you joined and barely fluctuated with others who came and went. I grant that Gibbs had a hand in it but you were the superstar, Agent DiNozzo. I want to give you a chance to pass on your skills to a many agents as possible and then they can pass them on when they move to a new team.”

“But I’ll keep Agent McGee?”

Davenport sighed. “Two issues came up in regards to Agent McGee. The first goes along with Gibbs’ cowboy style and I expect you to rein him in: his hacking. To be precise, his _illegal_ hacking of government and private servers. Without warrants. I commend his computer skills but hacking is only acceptable when you have legal permission. So, pull him up, Agent DiNozzo, or you’ll both be in hot water.”

Tony nodded not surprised. “Yes, sir.”

“The other issue is - did you know your junior agent was an aspiring novelist?”

Tony nodded with a little smile. “He writes on an old fashioned typewriter, sir, and chews on an unlit pipe.”

Davenport snorted. “Good for him. I don’t care what the boy does in his free time, as long as it’s legal, but the problem is the novel he finished. It is - let me just - the thing comes out very soon and is going to be a huge black eye for NCIS. It’s called Deep Six: The Continuing Adventures of LJ Tibbs. It features Agent Tommy, Officer Lisa, Agent McGregor, forensic specialist Amy Sutton, medical examiner Doctor Moulard nicknamed Goosey, and his assistant, a Polynesian named Pimmy Jalmer who has necrophiliac fantasies about the corpses he works with.”

Tony’s hand went to his face, an almost totally involuntary response. “Oh my God. He didn’t?!? Oh God, what was he thinking?”

“If you read it, it’s worse, trust me. It is practically true crime. You need to meet with legal and then with Agent McGee about this. It has to be _heavily_ edited or he’s going to get sued. And that’s if he is lucky. A lawyer told me we might have to lock him up for revealing secrets. If you care about him at all, Agent DiNozzo, talk to him. Soon.”

“I will, sir, trust me. I will.”

Davenport pushed a copy of the book to him and he nodded. “Read it ASAP. It’s due to be released in under three weeks. If that thing is going to be stopped, it has to be very, very soon.”

Tony nodded. Davenport stood up and reached a hand out. Tony rose to his feet and shook the hand and picked up the folder and novel from the table. “Mister Secretary, Deputy Director, Agent Burley, thank you for your faith in me. I’ll do my very best.”

“We know you will, son, or you wouldn’t have the job. You’ll be back on rotation as soon as you choose an SFA and they arrive. Assuming McGee doesn’t get arrested due to his - novel.”

Tony nodded, shook hands with the other men and left the office, sighing and smiling sickly grin at Cynthia. “It’s a new day, Cynthia.”

“And are you greeting the dawn with purpose, Agent DiNozzo?”

“I’d rather roll over, pull the covers up, and go back to sleep but needs must so I soldier on. Or sailor on, I suppose.”

Her giggles followed him as he left the office, lifting his spirits a tad. It was going to be a long week but change had come and he was still standing.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I have ideas for a sequel but nothing concrete. Don't bug me about it. If I write one, don't expect it anytime soon.


End file.
